One of L.A.’s best cultural events happens only once a year—and it’s finally here. After being rescheduled from February, Museums Free-for-All will take place this Sunday, March 16, with 30 museums and cultural institutions throughout Southern California offering free admission to all. And whether you’re interested in art, film, history or cultural heritage, there’s truly something for everyone to enjoy on this year’s roster.
Coincidentally, this year’s Museums Free-for-All does coincide with the L.A. Marathon, also happening this Sunday, but don’t let that deter you: Most participating museums aren’t impacted by the marathon’s route, and even for those that are—basically the Broad or MOCA Grand Avenue—the roads will be back open by late morning. Check our list of marathon road closures if you’re concerned.
Participating museums are sprinkled all throughout SoCal—from the Autry Museum in Griffith Park to the Grammy Museum Downtown to the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona to the Bowers Museum in Orange County. You can plan your own L.A. museum crawl or even turn it into a full island day trip, if you like, by visiting the Catalina Museum for Art & History.
While general admission to all the museums is free, in many cases that doesn’t extend to specially ticketed exhibitions or parking costs. (There’s just no way around paying that $15–$25 to park at the Getty Center—that is unless you take the Metro. Another incentive to leave your car at home: Many of the museums are offering Metro riders with a TAP card special discounts on March 16.)
Think of Sunday as an opportunity to cross a few items off your cultural to-do list—or as a chance to revisit an old favorite without breaking out your wallet. And while all of the participating museums are worth a visit, do note that several spots either always offer free admission—like the Broad, MOCA, California African American Museum, Getty Center and Hammer Museum—or else regularly offer free days that you can take advantage of. With that in mind, here are a few picks for what to prioritize this Sunday.
To get the most bang for your (no) buck, the Academy Museum should be stop number one. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ sole museum typically never offers free admission (though ages 17 and under are always free), so this is your chance to check it out if you’ve been meaning to. You can see Dorothy’s red slippers from The Wizard of Oz at the vibrant special exhibition “Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema,” ride an escalator past the sole surviving shark from Jaws, learn all about Oscars history (you can even hold an actual Oscar, but that’ll still cost you $10 on Sunday) and much more at this uniquely Los Angeles shrine to moviemaking.
Afterward, stroll next door to LACMA. While the museum is always free on weekday afternoons for L.A. County residents, if you can’t get away from your desk during the week or are visiting from out of town, you should absolutely make a visit to the encyclopedic art museum a priority. While it’s in the midst of a redesign, you can still see plenty of masterpieces, large-scale contemporary works (including Josiah McElheny’s multiverse-evoking Island Universe and Chris Burden’s kinetic sculpture Metropolis II) and special exhibitions including “We Live in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art.”
Next to LACMA are the La Brea Tar Pits, and while the bubbling tar pits themselves are always free to visit, the accompanying museum is not. Head inside to learn about Ice Age history and see fossils, cave drawings, and mammoth and mastodon bones. And across the street, you’ll find Craft Contemporary, the city’s only museum dedicated to contemporary craft and community-based folk art, where you’re sure to find yourself creatively inspired.
Over on the Westside, the Skirball Cultural Center is another top pick for this Sunday. The museum’s ongoing “Visions and Values” exhibition traces 4,000 years of Jewish history. But you’ll also find a special exhibition, “Diane von Furstenberg: Woman Before Fashion,” dedicated to the glass-ceiling-breaking fashion designer behind the wrap dress. A popular option for families is the specially ticketed “Noah’s Ark,” which was actually included in the Museums Free-for-All offerings, but unfortunately it looks like tickets for the exhibition are already sold out. If you’ve already made the drive to the Skirball, it seems like a crime not to visit the Getty Center. Sure, admission is always free, and you’ll still have to pay for parking, but there’s something about riding the tram up the hill and taking in the panoramic views of Los Angeles that will make you fall in love with the city all over again.
There are a lot of Downtown offerings this year, but one that normally never offers free days is the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, where you can see one of Taylor Swift’s Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder’s harmonica, Gustavo Dudamel’s conductor baton and red-carpet fashions. New to the museum is the interactive “Sonic Playground” experience, which lets you take a hands-on approach to making music, from producing beats to playing instruments.
One can’t-miss stop is the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA’s “Olafur Eliasson: OPEN”—which Time Out editors chose as the best exhibition of 2024. Luckily it’s still open through July 6 and is included in this Sunday’s event, meaning you can see the spectacular show from Icelandic–Danish Eliasson and his colorful kaleidoscopes for free (tickets normally run $18).
If you’re up for a drive, you could also turn Sunday into an impromptu mini road trip to Santa Barbara. Two of the city’s museums—the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the kid-friendly Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History—will be offering free admission. See some Monet, learn about animals, admire the Mission Revival architecture, have a nice local meal—may we recommend some Julia Child–approved tacos?—then head home. Sounds like a perfect day.
No matter which museum(s) you choose to visit, with your newfound cultural knowledge, you’re sure to be the most interesting person in the office Monday morning.
Below is a full list of every museum you can visit for free this Sunday, along with their hours. It’s worth noting that two of the participating spots (California Botanic Garden and the International Printing Museum, which is only open Saturdays) are granting free entry on Saturday, March 15, rather than Sunday.
Museums Participating in Museums Free-for-All
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
10am–6pm
(Advance reservations are encouraged. Standby line will be available.)
American Museum of Ceramic Art
11am–4pm
(Advance reservations are required.)
Autry Museum of the American West
10am–5pm
(Advance reservations are required)
Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College
11am–6pm
Bowers Museum
10am–4pm
(Free General Admission for walk-ups only.)
The Broad
10am–6pm
(Advance reservations are encouraged.)
California African American Museum
11am–5pm
California Botanic Garden
8am–6pm
(Free admission on Saturday, March 15, in lieu of Sunday, March 16. Advance reservations are recommended.)
Catalina Museum for Art & History
10am–5pm
Columbia Memorial Space Center
10am-3pm
Craft Contemporary
11am–5pm
(Check in at the front desk to receive an admission pass.)
Forest Lawn Museum
10am–5pm
Fowler Museum
Noon–5pm
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
11am–5pm
The Getty Center
10am–5:30pm
(Advance reservations required.)
Grammy Museum
11am–5pm
Hammer Museum
11am–6pm
Holocaust Museum LA
10am–5pm
(Advance reservations are required.)
Institute Contemporary Art, LA
11am–6pm
International Printing Museum
10am–4pm
(Free tours on Saturday, March 15. Reservations are required.)
La Brea Tar Pits
9:30am–5pm
(Advance reservations are required.)
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Noon–5pm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
10am–7pm
(Advance reservations are recommended.)
The Museum of Contemporary Art
Grand Avenue and Geffen Contemporary: 11am–6pm
(Advance reservations are recommended.)
Museum of Latin American Art
11am–5pm
Museum of Tolerance
10am–5pm
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
11am–5pm
(Advance reservations are recommended.)
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
10am–5pm
(Advance reservations are recommended. Sea Center not included.)
Santa Monica History Museum
11am–5pm
Skirball Cultural Center
10am–5pm
Sunnylands Center & Gardens
8:30am–4pm
(Historic house tour requires advance tickets.)
USC Pacific Asia Museum
11am–5pm
The Wende Museum
10am–5pm